Roundhill

We wanted to end our explorations of Bath on a high. So a hill was the obvious place to go.

Several of the texts in our research mention Roundhill as a religious site of Sulis Minerva. This may well be anecdotal folklore rather than archaeological fact. But we have explored wilder claims about the goddess. 

The park hides away on the outskirts of Southdown. Despite being a hill, you can walk straight past this potential holy ground without realising. Schools and houses hem the space, and hidden gates provide the entrances. You could assume it was a small child’s playground, and never discover the full green space. Farms and woodland appear five minutes down the road. 

Once you are in, the hill towers above you. We undertook the slog to the top along a path of plants flattened by dozens of feet. The trail curves up at an angle, and sunlight burnt our eyes all the way up.

At the top is a small white concrete monument tattooed with graffiti. There must be a reason behind the placement of this weird stone lump, yet nothing indicates any purpose or memorial. You can sit on a bench and enjoy a view of the whole city descending into the valley, dissolving into fields on the other side. Remove eighty percent of the housing, and you have the perfect spot for a religious site. 

If this was a place for residents to worship, then much like the Roman Baths it is an area that people still visit. Two thousand years later this continues to be a hotspot for the local community, and a place to marvel at the landscape around you. Despite all the opportunities to build on this site, to bury the mound in bricks and macadam, the space remains the same. Remains sacred. 

The view towards Newton St Loe.

Imagine if the goddess had appeared to us on the hill, framed by the glow of the sun. Granted us an interview, or passed on a mantra about how to live your life. 

Unless she was disguised as a woman walking her dog, no such luck. But we realised you can see all the different locations from our project from here. Roundhill gave us an incredible sense all these spots are strung together. That the key to cracking the mystery was here upon the hill. 

The goddess of the water is also the goddess in the sun in much of our reading. Is Roundhill the place that joins them together? Is this hidden corner of Bath an often forgotten monument to its geology?

We strolled back down the hill to reality.

The view of Bath from Roundhill